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A 20-year-old man has had his identity concealed but has not applied for bail in a brief court appearance charged with the murder of a woman at a shopping centre in Adelaide’s south.
The man was wearing a white forensic jumpsuit and appeared calm when he faced Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday afternoon.
A police prosecutor successfully argued for his identity to be suppressed along with the identity of his alleged victim, a 36-year-old mother-of-two.
The court was told the investigation was in its infancy and releasing those details would hamper detectives in their efforts to speak with and seek information from potential witnesses.
The man charged over the murder was arrested at the scene early on Thursday morning.
Soon after his arrest police said they had not established a motive for the killing at the Colonnades Shopping Centre at Noarlunga.
Detective Inspector Scott Fitzgerald said no weapons were used in the attack and the nature of the woman’s injuries were severe.
“This murder of a mother is shocking and tragic. Our thoughts are with the family,” he said.
“We are currently looking at the motive, however at this stage, both parties are not known to each other and we’re not certain of what the motive is.”
Pbader-by Chris Graham found the woman’s body lying face down.
“When I saw the blood I realised it was pretty serious,” Mr Graham told reporters.
“I called an ambulance as soon as I saw the blood … she was completely unconscious.”
Sarah Huxtable, who brought flowers from her garden to lay at the spot where the woman died, said her gesture was “to show her a little bit of respect that she wasn’t shown in the last moments of her life”.
“It gobsmacks me that people can’t be safe near their own home or near a place that has security,” she said.
The court heard that if details of the defendant’s identity were published, they would soon become “rife” on social media which meant any potential witnesses could obtain prior knowledge of the case.
The magistrate agreed to suppress his identity and the identity of his alleged victim for 28 days to allow investigations to continue.
Those inquiries will also include the examination of CCTV footage.
The accused was remanded in custody to return to court on March 27 next year.
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